To keep Lake George’s natural beauty, the Lake George Park Commission is demanding money from its unnatural visitors – boaters.

According to the Park Commission’s 2015 recreation study, close to 2,000 boats were recorded on Lake George at peak hours on just one July day. The commission said it needs more funds to protect against pollution and invasive species and to plan for the future.

“In order to continue the work that we’ve been doing and to meet a little bit of inflation, we found a need to increase our fees modestly,” Lake George Park Commission Vice Chairman Ken Parker said.

Tuesday morning, the commission voted to request a 12 percent increase in fees for boat and dock permits.

“It’s been 15 years since we’ve had a fee increase, and the price is going up,” Parker said. “The park commission has been a great steward of Lake George, and there’s lots of things that we do and we have to continue doing.”

But some local taxpayers said they shouldn’t be held responsible. Allan Rider has property in Hague, and he said visitors should have to pay more.

“I think the visitors who are more than likely the people bringing the problems in that we are paying for to eradicate should bear a little more of the cost,” he said.

Those problems include invasive species, trash and other pollutants. Others at the meeting said they’re not against a fee increase but other options should be explored.

The fee increase will be brought to the legislature for an approval and an exact amount.